


Cornered

by OneWithoutAName



Series: Thieves AU [4]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Angry Charles, Hurt Charles, Hurt Erik, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Shaw Being a Manipulative Bastard, Violence, sick Erik
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 22:11:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9627587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneWithoutAName/pseuds/OneWithoutAName
Summary: 'Breathing hard he used his powers to reach out again, but this time he searched for any mind there might be. He felt two minds besides Erik, definitely inside their cabin, but what made terror rise inside him was that their minds felt like something cold and sharp was surrounding them. Just like the mind of the man who had shot Erik before.'You might want to read the first part of this series before you read this.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It’s quite funny. When I first started to write this series I thought that this would be somewhat lighthearted fic collection. The boys would be happy on the wrong side of the law and nothing would hurt. … I don’t know what happened. Apparently I just can’t write anything without hurt.  
> But yeah, this is what it is. I hope you enjoy it. Not betad, might be some mistakes, but hopefully not much. XD Characters are not mine, they belong to Marvel. (If they were Cherik would be canon already!)

“What did I tell you?” Charles asked as he cleaned the painful, swollen wound on Erik’s shoulder. The older man just grunted, clearly annoyed, but it didn’t make Charles slow down. “I said that you would get an infection if you wouldn’t let me patch up your shoulder. And what did you say?”

“This must be some kind of new torture technique.” Erik muttered from the bed where he was laying. Again, Charles just ignored him.

“You said, ‘Couple more minutes won’t make any difference’. Well, Erik, do you feel any different right now?” His tone was dry, but the metalbender could clearly sense his worry that was hiding behind it. He was quite proud that he was able to tell it, considering that the fever was making it a bit difficult to concentrate. He had felt a little weak when they had reached their two room cabin, sheltered by cliffs and trees, but thought that it was just after-job weariness. That was until Charles had removed the old bandages and seen how the bullet wound had turned worse. Needless to say, the telepath was not amused.

 

“Yes, you were right. Are you happy now?” Erik asked, hoping that Charles would leave it. This was all embarrassing. To make it through the most daring break-in just to die home from one bullet to the shoulder.

“Not as happy as I hoped I would be. And don’t be so dramatic, you won’t die. As long as you take it easy for a couple of days you’ll be fine.” Charles said as he removed rotten tissue around the wound with a small knife. Erik let out another annoyed grunt and the telepath smiled sweetly. “And when you feel better, we can just relax. I recall that you said something about a well-deserved break…” He left the sentence hanging in the air and, just like he had hoped, the corners of Erik’s lips tugged up.

“I did. And I’m sorry that you have to wait a bit longer.” Erik said, closing his eyes, ready to drift off.

“Don’t worry about it.” Charles said and now satisfied with his work took the bandages, tying the metalbender’s shoulder and arm. He couldn’t stitch the wound now that it was infected. “Besides I have to go and meet Ms. Frost’s middleman soon enough.”

 

That made Erik forget his slumber.

“What?” He tried to sit up, but Charles held him down.

“I have to go and change the jewels to our payment. I won’t be gone for long.” He tried to reassure, but Erik glared at him firmly.

“I can’t let you go alone. I’m coming with you, like always.” He pushed himself up, fighting Charles’ hands away, but the room tilted suddenly and he was forced to sit down again. He took deep breaths, trying to get a grip when he felt hands on his shoulders and Charles’ gentle voice talking to him.

“Erik, you are not in shape to travel and if I don’t show up, Ms. Frost will think that she’s been betrayed. Now stay still so I can stop patching you up.” Erik would have liked to protest, but all the energy had left his body. He let Charles push him back to the bed.

 

The telepath didn’t leave immediately, instead he made sure that Erik was comfortably tugged under the covers and brought two extra quilted blankets just to be sure. Before he went he also brought a glass of water to the side table and cleaned the sweat off the metalbenders face with a wet cloth. They had pipes come straight to their kitchen, thanks to Erik’s powers, so they didn’t even have to go out to pump water. Task done, Charles petted Erik’s hair fondly before he kissed now sleeping man on the forehead. The skin felt hot against his lips.

“I’ll be back soon. I promise.” He whispered and with a heavy sigh stood up, leaving first the room, then the cabin, locking the door behind him. He didn’t want to leave Erik alone now that he was sick. His heart begged him to turn around and go back, but he knew that all their work would be for nothing if he didn’t go now. But even if he knew that, it didn’t make it any easier to leave. Only thing he could do now was to do this as quickly as possible.

 

As he walked to the paddock he let out a long whistle, then another. Soon he could see two horses, one black and the other dun. They trotted to the gate where Charles now stood. The sun was slowly setting behind them.

“Hey girls. Sorry I didn’t bring any sweets for you, but I promise to bring some next time.” He spoke gently and climbed to the other side. The dun one, Cerebro, followed him as he walked to the small shelter where they kept all the riding equipment and stood nicely still when Charles started to saddle it. The black mare, Eisen, moved nervously close to them. Charles smiled sadly at her and patted it.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t come along this time. Erik is not in shape to ride right now.” He said and Eisen lowered her head. “Don’t worry girl, he will be better soon.” Charles assured, maybe more to himself than to the mare.

 

…

 

When he finally made it to the meeting place, three miles away from the closest town, it was already dark. The night was clear however and the light of the moon made it easier to see. Ms. Frost’s middleman was already there, on the back of his own horse. Charles had already covered his mouth and nose with a scarf and the brim of his hat casted a shadow that made it hard to see his eyes.

 

He slowed down and halted Cerebro beside the other man. Latino, if Charles had to guess.

“You have the jewels?” The man asked. Like before, the man got straight to the topic, which suited Charles more than fine right now. The faster they did this, the faster he could go back home to take care of Erik.

“Of course.” The telepath took the purse from his pocket and showed one of the jewels to the man.” Do you have the money?” He asked and without an answer the man showed him a bigger purse and held up one coin, before putting it back to the purse and tying it shut. Just in case, Charles scanned his thoughts to make sure that there was no foul play. There wasn’t.

 

The trade was swift, both men getting what they wanted and Charles nodded to the man.

“You can tell Ms. Frost, that it was a pleasure.” The Latino nodded back before he turned his horse and urged it to move. Charles brought two fingers to his temple and used his powers to blur the man’s memories about the encounter. He had done it enough times that it didn’t take that long and soon he turned Cerebro and headed home.

 

On his way he got this strange feeling. Just like someone was watching him, but when he scanned the area with his powers he couldn’t feel anybody.

 

…

 

It took a while before Erik understood that the knocking sound was actually coming from the door rather than from his head. But when he realized that, his mind turned on alert. Who could it be? No one knew where they hid. This was supposed to be their safe place, away from the law and other people. So who was it? It couldn’t be Charles, he would have reached to Erik’s mind, or used the spare key. He opened his eyes, the room was dark so he had been sleeping for a while now. The knocking became louder, the person on the other side clearly impatient and Erik believed that if he didn’t open it that person would break the door. It didn’t ease Erik’s mind at all.

 

Slowly, Erik stood up from the bed. The air felt cold and he shivered. Apparently the fever hadn’t broken yet, but he felt slightly better. At least the room didn’t spin or tilt. As he made his way to the front door, he took his revolver from a shelf and loaded it. If there was someone who wanted a fight he was prepared.

 

He walked to the door, leaning little against it, but didn’t make a move to open it.

“Who is it? What do you want?” He shouted through the door. He had to chough a couple of times to stop his throat from itching. The knocking stopped and soon a calm male voice shouted back.

“My name is Sebastian Shaw. I’d like to talk business.” So the man knew who he was talking to and wasn’t just a random traveler. The fact that he had found his way to their cabin made Erik uneasy.

“We are on a leave! Talk to the owner of The Wolverine after a few months and we’ll see.” Erik shouted, debating if he should just kill the man.

“I can assure you that you would be very interested in my offer.”

“I doubt that.” Erik started to get impatient, he just wanted to go back to bed.

 

There was silence and for a moment Erik thought that the man had left, but then his voice came through the door again.

“I know that you and your friend are special.” Erik felt his blood freeze. A memory of a man trying to blackmail him and Charles with his knowledge of his powers surfacing. It was hard to concentrate, but slowly he took a control of metal ornaments that were hanging from the roof of the porch, ready to attack.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to keep his voice steady, but didn’t quite accomplish it. Again, there was silence. That couldn’t mean anything good.

 

Suddenly there was a loud crack noise behind him and when asked later, it was the shock that had made Erik unable to react. There, in the middle of the room stood two men, small amounts of smoke disappearing to the air around them. One was slim, dressed in fine clothes. He was smiling, but it wasn’t friendly smile, but slimy. The other man was taller and well built, his skin was red, not red like Indian’s but actually bright red and he also had a tail. In short, he looked just like a demon. Maybe Erik wasn’t in such a good condition as he had thought. He was definitely hallucinating right now.

“As you can see, we have special talents too.” The slim man, Shaw judging by the voice, said and gestured himself and the man beside him.

“This can’t be real.” Erik muttered to himself. This was just delirium, caused by his fewer. It was easier to believe than a fact that there was two other men in his home with special powers. Only one he knew that had powers, besides Charles and him, was Logan, an annoying bastard that owned an inn called The Wolverine. They had started on a wrong foot, but now they did cooperation. Logan told them if there was a potential client for them and they gave him a little payment.

“You don’t look so well, my boy. Maybe you should sit down.” Shaw said in fake concern. Funny that Erik was able to notice that, but then this was all in his head.

 

Normally he wouldn’t show any kind of weakness in front of other people, he knew that if you did, they would take advantage of it. But he still was convinced that this was not real and even if it was, he started to feel weak from standing. He pushed himself off the door, keeping the revolver tightly in his grip just in case and moved to the dining table, sitting down on one of the chairs. He looked wearily at the other men. The demon had taken a place near one wall and Sebastian moved to sit on the other side of the table.

“This is better, isn’t it.” The man said, still smiling and Erik didn’t know if he wanted an answer or not. Apparently not as he continued shortly. “As you can see, you are not the only ones who have special talents. There are many more out there, but I found that you and your little friend are quite powerful.”

 

The man’s curious stare made Erik’s skin crawl. It was a look that a kid would have as they observed a slowly dying bug. He started to think that this might not actually be just a hallucination.

“How do you know about us?” He asked and the man leaned back on his seat, thinking.

“Let’s just say that it’s my job to observe people like you.” Erik frowned, people like them? Did he mean people with special talents or… People who were outlaws.

“You’re a bounty hunter.” Erik felt his body stiffen, ready to fight if needed, but the man before him just laughed.

“I’m pleased to see that even in such a weak state your brain still works. You truly have potential.” Shaw told, looking at him like waiting him to thank him for the compliment.

“What do you want from me? From us?” He asked instead, but Shaw didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes, I have an offer for you. You see, we have our little group. We are bounty hunters, but we are also all powerful gifted. We take care of each other and we are not held down by vile humans and their pesky laws. You must have already understood that we are way better than them.” Erik thought about it, and couldn’t say he wholly disagreed. It was mostly because of his and Charles’ powers that they were so talented what they did and that they weren’t already been caught. They were better than ordinary humans.

 

Shaw must have taken his silence as a cue to continue.

“I understand that you might prefer to keep things like they have been. But there’s power in numbers. I can see that you have already taken some damage, and I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t the first time.” The man gestured Erik’s arm in sling. He was right. Sometimes everything didn’t work out as planned and one of them got hurt. Usually just some minor injuries, but there were couple of times when death had been near. Erik had always thought that they were better alone, but was that really the case? How long they could stay ahead of the Grim Reaper? But he was still reluctant to take Shaw’s offer. Something about the man made him nervous and usually it was the best to listen to his instincts.

“Maybe, but it has worked for us this far. We don’t need anyone else.” Erik told the man, hoping that he and his red friend would just leave, but Shaw kept insisting.

“Has it really been living? With all the fear and need to hide. With me you could have so much more. We could help you discover the real potential of your powers. And with the money we get from rewards of the wanted people, you would have more time and resources to do things you always had wanted. Your friend could finally focus on studying, satisfy his curiosity of science and biology.”

 

The last sentence made Erik’s stomach drop and he pointed his gun at the man sitting across him. Shaw looked at him with surprise, but didn’t seem concerned.

“How do you know that?” Erik asked, voice low and his heart pounding fast inside his chest. All other things the man had said he could have just observed, but how could he know about Charles’ love for learning? Shaw sighed and intertwined his fingers on top of the table, leaning forward now.

“I too have a friend who knows how to read minds. We just made little background research. Surely you understand.” His voice was calm, but his smile faded away. Erik wanted them out of his home.

“Leave. Now.” He demanded through gritted teeth.

“Now, now, no need to be so rash. I’m sure we can-“. Shaw tried to say, but Erik didn’t let him finish.

“Get out!” He shouted and stood up, forcing himself not to falter. Shaw looked at him for a moment and stood up slowly. He didn’t go to his friend or the door however, but started to walk around the table towards Erik. Apparently he didn’t think that Erik would pull the trigger. He was mistaken.

 

The loud bang of the shot made Erik’s ears ring, but Shaw didn’t fall like he should have. Instead he held the bullet in his fist and looked Erik with what seemed to be disappointment.

“I really hoped this wouldn’t have come to this, but you leave me no choice.” He dropped the bullet unceremoniously and closed the gap between them. Before Erik could even blink the revolver was ripped out of his hand and he was flying through the room, hitting to the wall opposite to the front door. His injured arm was burning with pain and he let out a breathless gasp. It took a moment for him to get his vision back on line. Shaw was walking slowly towards him, still talking.

“Now Mr. Lehnsherr, this is my final offer. Join me or die.”

 

…

 

Charles’ paranoia had eased somewhat as he got closer to home. It had probably just been the stress of the last job. Now, there was no more duties or tasks to do. He could finally relax with his partner. Well as soon as the said partner got little better. They really deserved it. These past few months had been almost overwhelmingly busy. They had traveled through the country for various jobs and a break sounded perfect.

 

As he rode through the woods Charles let his mind reach for Erik, expecting to feel him sleep. He was surprised when he felt that the older man was actually awake and felt… threatened? Charles was just about to reach further for his partner, ask him what was wrong, when pain shot through his body and made him almost fall from Cerebro’s back. Breathing hard he used his powers to reach out again, but this time he searched for any mind there might be. He felt two minds besides Erik, definitely inside their cabin, but what made terror rise inside him was that their minds felt like something cold and sharp was surrounding them. Just like the mind of the man who had shot Erik before. He was shaking as he urged Cerebro to go faster. He knew that it was dangerous in a dark forest, but the dun mare knew the way home, and they had no time to lose. Erik was in danger!

 

It didn’t take long, not even five minutes, to reach the cabin. He had tried to reach for the metalbender again, but his mind had also been covered with cold shield. Charles jumped down and ran to the front door, finding it locked. He quickly pulled his key from his breast pocket, feeling three minds inside the cabin and threw the door open. His eyes landed immediately on Erik, slumped against the wall and clearly in pain.

“Erik!” The name fell from his lips and he took two steps towards him until he saw two other men in the room, both looking at him now. Thinner man was near Erik, apparently the one who had hurt the metalbender. But it was the other man, wearing long jacket and leaning casually against the wall, whose appearance made Charles’ breath hitch. He stared at the red skin, icy blue eyes and pointy tail. _There’s something wrong with Charles! He is a devil’s child! Demons will find you and take you away!_ Old memories crashed to him like a wave and suddenly he felt like he was a child again, small and weak. No! Charles took the hold of those thoughts and memories. He wasn’t a scared child anymore, he knew that those things weren’t true. It was the thinner man’s voice that snapped him truly out of his head.

“Ah, Mr. Charles Xavier, it’s a pleasure to see that you decided to join us.” The man smiled, but Charles was able to tell that it was far from a friendly gesture.

 

Erik made a weak attempt to move, but every inch of his body hurt.

“Charles, run! You must run!” He begged, but the telepath didn’t take even a one step backwards. He studied the mental shields around the other minds, trying to figure out some way to get past them.

“You are the one who tried to shoot us earlier.”  Charles said, trying to keep them busy so they wouldn’t realize what he was doing. Erik’s eyes widened, looking between Charles and Shaw, who shrugged.

“Well, actually it was Azazel there, but I was the one who wanted him to do it.” His voice was smug and Charles started to get desperate with the shields, they didn’t seem to have any weaknesses.

“Why? Who are you? What do you want?”

“My name is Sebastian Shaw. And because I hate repeating myself and because Mr. Lehnsherr here didn’t seem to appreciate my offer, not yet anyway, I give you the short version.” Annoyance was clear now in Shaw’s voice, even when he kept smiling. “Join me and live free and happy or die.”

 

The words made no sense to Charles. It felt almost like the man was speaking in different language. It started to be clear that this man, Shaw, didn’t have it all together. Seeing no point to hide it anymore, Charles put his fingers to his temple for more focus and tried to get past the mental shields.

“You are a maniac.” He said and the man actually laughed, throwing his head back.

“Oh you are wrong there, my boy. I am a visionary, not a maniac.” Shaw said when he caught his breath. “And your powers will get you nowhere, so you should just stop what you are doing.” It felt like ice-cold water had been thrown to his back. How did this man now about his powers?

 

“That is right, sugar, your unpracticed powers are no match for my abilities.” A sharp voice of a woman made them all turn their attention to the door. Said woman walked in the cabin, she had blond hair and was dressed in fine white clothes. Very unpractical in a dirty terrain like this, but there were no single stain on her dress. Behind her, walked in a man with black hair and tanned skin and Charles’ eyes widened. Even if he hadn’t seen the man that well, he recognized him immediately.

“I know you. You are Ms. Frost’s middleman.” Charles said to the man, who just looked at him with natural expression.

“Indeed, you have already met Janos. I would have liked to meet you myself, but we couldn’t take a risk that you would have recognized my mind and shields.” The blond smiled coldly at Charles. “Ms. Emma Frost. It is pleasure to finally meet a fellow telepath.” As she said this, Charles felt icy presence in his mind and flinched. He looked around the room. These all people were-

“Gifted like you and Mr. Lehnsherr there, yes.” Emma finished his thought and Charles tried to push her out of his mind, but the cold and sharp presence didn’t go away. Nothing in this made any sense!

 

“Why are you doing this? The bank robbery, the jewels, shooting us, what was the point?” Charles tried to solve the puzzle, but he didn’t have enough information. He glanced at Erik who had screwed his eyes shut and was breathing heavily. He was certainly in pain and Charles started to get anxious without a way to reach him, physically or mentally.

“Consider the jewels as a final test, just to make sure you were worth of our time.” Shaw said. A test! Charles felt anger rise inside him. It was like these people were toying with them, like cat with a mouse before eating it.

“And that you managed to shoot us. What did that tell you about us?” Charles asked, but it was Erik who spoke up through gritted teeth.

“They wanted to prove a point.” His eyes were still shut and didn’t look any better. Charles wanted to tell him to rest, to save his energy, but in front of an enemy it would do no good. If they saw them give in even slightest this might end badly for them. The odds were already bad.

“Yes, Erik, my boy, we wanted to show that it is dangerous to be alone.” Shaw smiled, sounding pleased. The familiar way in his speech made Charles and Erik both sick.

 

“We are not alone. And the only reason that anything happened was that you arranged the scene.” Charles spoke with strong voice, pointing his finger at Shaw.

“Don’t take this personal, sugar.” Frost cut in before Shaw was able to say anything. “There’s no need to make this complicated. Just join us and I’m sure that you will even like it.” Something in her voice made Charles want to say yes. This wasn’t that bad idea, they would be happy with these new people. People like them. How many possibilities were that they ever met other people like them?

 

Suddenly Charles realized that these were not his thoughts. This was Frost, trying to use her powers to manipulate him. Charles gathered his powers and pushed the other telepath out of his mind.

“No!” He shouted and the woman’s eyes widened just slightly from surprise. “I’m not a puppet for you to use and neither is Erik!” He had gained more confidence as he had succeeded throwing Frost out of his mind. Maybe if he focused all his powers to her he could make her sleep and then take care of the others when the shields at least weakened.

“Don’t bother, Emma.” Shaw spoke up with cold voice. “He won’t change his mind. I knew it immediately when I saw him, he doesn’t have it in him, he’s too... good.” He said the last word like it was poison in his mouth. Charles didn’t like where this was going.

“But I’m lucky that I already have a telepath so it won’t be that big of a loss.” Shaw shrugged, seemingly carefree. “And I don’t need a follower who is just going to cause me trouble. So if you could just get on with it Emma dear and we can get the reward from his body.”

 

Charles felt suddenly cold with realization of what was going to happen to him and then, came the pain. It was like thousands of icy spikes had been pushed through his head. He couldn’t focus on anything. There was only pain and him and he was sure that this would be it. This was how he would die. He only hoped that somehow Erik would survive and be safe.

 

As suddenly as the pain had started it stopped. For a moment he thought that he had passed away, but there was still pain. Not as intense, but still there. It took Charles a moment to take in all new information. He was on his knees on the floor, his throat was raw, maybe he had been screaming, his breathing was ragged and his face felt wet from sweat, tears and- Charles wiped the skin under his nose with his fingers and looked at them. They had blood on them. That couldn’t be good.

 

Slowly the telepath lifted his head and looked around. The cabin had collapsed. There was dust in the air, ruined logs of wood were everywhere and the roof had given in. What had happened? Where was Erik? Charles felt panic inside him as he moved slowly towards the place where Erik had been, careful to not make the debris to collapse anymore. Everything metallic was twisted or melted on the floor, or what was left of it. Had Erik made the cabin collapse? He tried to reach for the metalbender’s mind, but didn’t feel it. The silence made his stomach drop. Erik couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t! He reached the place where Erik had been, but there was no one. It was small relief, but it just raised the question, where was he?

“Can’t you just possess his body and get us out of here?” Shaw’s angry voice carried to him and made Charles held his breath.

“I can’t do that on unconscious people and you know it.” Came Frost’s sharp reply and Charles stalked closer, taking a cover on the ruins of the cabin. He wondered why she hadn’t found him already. Maybe she assumed him dead or was too busy with something else. Shaw groaned.

“This has been more harm than good.”

 

Peeking from his hiding place, Charles tried to figure out what was happening. He saw Frost, Shaw and Janos standing a few meters away of the ruined cabin. On the ground were lying two bodies, Azazel and Erik. Charles couldn’t help but inhale sharply when he recognized his lover’s body on the ground. Please, let him be alive, he thought and carefully reached for his mind. That was when Ms. Frost turned to look straight at him and Shaw just behind her.

“Oh, can’t you just die?” He shouted with anger and pulled out a revolver under his jacket. Charles ducked just in time and the bullet hit the ruins of the cabin instead of his head.

 

To his surprise he heard Shaw shout in pain and in anger and spared another look from his hiding place. The revolver was lying further away on the ground and Erik’s hand dropped to his side where he had been holding it up. Apparently he had wrenched the gun from Shaw’s hand with his powers.

“You worthless piece of shit!” Shaw shouted and kicked Erik to side, making him fly a few feet and landing with a pained gasp. He didn’t even try to move or get up.

“Erik!” Charles stood up, eyes locked on his abused partner. He felt his fear and concern transform into cold rage towards Shaw and the others. What had he and Erik ever done to them to deserve this? What made Shaw think that he just could go and destroy other people lives? Charles had seen many despicable people and minds during his life, but Shaw just had made it to the top of that list.

 

“I don’t have time for this.” Shaw spitted out and started walking towards his gun.

“No.” Charles said with strong voice that made the man actually turn to look at him.

“Excuse me?” He asked, lifting one eye brow, but Charles didn’t answer. Instead he tried again get through the shields that Frost kept up. He felt raw power rising inside him. He smashed his powers against the shields, not caring of the pain it caused. Shaw looked from the heavy breathing telepath to his own, who had confused frown on her face.

“Emma, what is this?” He demanded for an answer. He could feel something nudging against his mind and it became more and more painful.

“I can’t keep them up! His too powerful!” Emma sounded almost scared and it was enough to make Shaw feel threatened. He tried to get to his gun, but noticed that he couldn’t move his legs. He turned his head, looking at the male telepath, whose eyes were dark and dangerous. How much Shaw could achieve if he had that power on his side…

 

Charles had never felt so powerful before. He felt invincible! The physical world had faded and he was closer to a world where only the minds existed. He saw and felt the shields weaken with every new attack he made. They would never hurt Erik, or him, again. Never! With a final wave of his powers he felt how the shields shatter. Someone screamed, but he was not sure who. He saw when four minds fell unconscious, their presences fading, almost disappearing.

 

Slowly the powerful feeling left him and he became more aware of the physical world around him again. His knees buckled and he fell on all fours to the ground, out of breath. He tried to understand what had exactly happened. It felt more like he had been in a dream. He had managed to break through four strong mental shields and knock out four people- Charles felt sudden coldness take over his body. _Four_ people. No! Charles lifted his head and looked at Erik, laying on the ground, not moving.

“Erik!” Charles rushed to his lover’s side despite his unsteady legs and put his fingers against his neck, finding the pulse. “I’m so sorry Erik. I’m so sorry.” He whispered as he lowered his head so their foreheads touched. He was relieved to feel small flicker of unconscious mind, but there was still a chance that he had done some damage. He hoped to god that that wasn’t the case.

“Okay. You’ll be fine. We just need to get you somewhere safe.” Charles kept talking aloud, his mind trying to come up with a plan. They could go to Logan. The man was their friend, surely he wouldn’t turn them away when they needed help. But first they had to make it to the town.

 

A short neigh made the telepath look up. Cerebro was slowly approaching them, still fully saddled. Well, this would help things along.

“Cerebro, shh, it’s okay. Come here, girl.” He said with calm tone even when he was all but calm right now. The dun mare kept walking towards them and without any encouragement lay down on the ground, like it knew what Charles was thinking. Maybe she was a telepath too, Charles thought. “Clever girl. Now, please, stay still.” Charles kept talking as he struggled to get Erik to the saddle, leaning along Cerebro’s neck. When she stood up, Charles held onto Erik so he didn’t drop and climbed up to the saddle too. He moved Erik so his back was against his chest, and secured between his arms. It was a bit awkward, Erik being taller than him, but he was able to see over the other man’s shoulder.

“Okay girl, let’s go!” He urged the mare.

 

When they rode close the paddock he whistled twice and soon enough Eisen jumped over the barrier, joining behind them. Charles noticed that Erik’s breathing was shallow and he was trembling. The fever had taken a turn towards the worse. Hopefully they could make it to Logan’s in time.

 

…

 

 It was a quiet night at The Wolverine, local inn. It was the middle of the week so there were not many people drinking in the saloon, early morning works didn’t go well with late night drinking. Only one man was drinking quietly on the corner table. He had also asked for a room, so he was most likely just passing by or looking for a work or something. Not that Logan really cared, as long as the man payed his tab and didn’t break anything it didn’t matter.

 

Because of the quiet the knock on the back door could be heard to the bar where Logan was just cleaning some glasses. He frowned. He had no idea who it could be. With one glance to the man in the corner he walked to the stockroom and through that to the back door. Ready to use his claws if he had to, he opened the door. His eye brows shot up in surprise when he saw Charles, who was holding unconscious Erik up. They were both dirty and Charles had dried blood under his nose.

“Chuck? What-“

“Please, Logan, help us!” Charles begged before he managed to finish his question.

 

Logan didn’t waste any time and took the metalbender from the smaller man.

“C’mon, let’s get him to a bed so I can take a look at him.” He carried the unconscious man to upstairs, making sure that the man in the saloon didn’t see them. Helping wanted criminals wasn’t something he wanted other people to know. Charles was just behind him as he stepped in one of the rent rooms and placed Erik on the narrow bed. He lit up an oil lamp on the bedside table and finally took a better look on the man. He had bandage around his shoulder and chest, but it was torn and dirty, some blood getting through it. His upper body was full of bruises and his forehead was burningly hot.

“What the heck happened to him?” Logan asked from Charles. These two had always been masters on what they did, so it was unbelievable to see damage this bad. He started to remove the bandage from the metalbender’s arm as Charles started to tell him what had happened. Or at least he tried, but his speech was so fast and disorientated that it was impossible to follow.

“He got shot on the last mission. The wound got infected. I had to leave him home but then there was bounty hunters and they had hurt him. I tried to help but they- they were like us and I couldn’t do anything and then there was pain and our cabin collapsed and-“

“Charles calm down!” Logan said firmly and took a hold of the smaller man’s shoulders, shaking him slightly. The telepath blinked at him with confusion. “I can’t understand anything you just said, so tell me another time. Now, you need to get a grip!”

He was taken aback when tears started to make their way down on Charles’ cheeks and the man sobbed.

“Please, Logan. Please, don’t let him die.” The plea was only a whisper and then he lowered his head, crying silently. Logan squeezed his shoulder, trying to give some kind of comfort.

“Don’t worry Chuck, you might just be in luck here.” Logan said and left the room before the smaller man could ask anything.

 

He walked to another door and knocked. Some loud noise could be heard from the room before the door opened slightly, revealing young, thin, brown haired man in pajamas and who was now looking at Logan with wide eyes behind his glasses.

“Y-Yes?” The man asked, voice slightly shaking.

“You’re a doctor, right?” Logan asked and the man frowned little but nodded.

“Yes, I am.”

“There’s a man who needs medical help on another room.” Logan said, not bothering to even ask whether the doctor wanted to come to help or not.

 

As it turned out, he didn’t have to. The doctor nodded, now with strength that hadn’t been there before.

“I just get my bag.” He said, disappearing inside the room and stepping out just a moment later. “Show the way.” He asked and Logan led him to the room where Erik and Charles were. The telepath had moved a chair beside the bed and was sitting there, but stood up immediately when two men came in. He looked at the new man warily.

“Doctor Henry McCoy.” The man introduced himself and Charles nodded.

“Can you help him?” He asked, not introducing himself or Erik. Right now he didn’t feel like trusting anyone new.

“I’ll do my best.” Dr. McCoy promised and moved beside the bed and put his bag down to the floor. He looked at the injuries, deciding which one of them was the one that needed his attention most. He decided that it was the gunshot wound.

“Is the bullet still in his shoulder?” He asked and Charles answered without hesitation.

“No, we got it out”

“Was it whole? It’s dangerous to leave anything inside-“

“It was. I’m sure of it.” Charles cut in and Logan was relieved to see that the telepath wasn’t crying anymore, even if his eyes were still showing signs of it.

 

Charles watched the doctor work, standing at the end of the bed, hugging himself. A hand on his shoulder made him look at Logan.

“I’ll go and take care of the horses for you.” He said and Charles nodded to him with small smile, thankful that he didn’t need to leave from Erik’s side. When Logan reached the door he turned back and spoke up again, louder this time. “And doc, take a look on the other one too when you’re done.” And with that he was gone, pulling a cigar out of his pocket. When McCoy looked up at Charles, surprised, the telepath shook his head.

“I’m fine, just… Help him, okay.” He asked. The doctor kept wrapping clean bandages around Erik’s left arm to a sling.

“There’s not much I can do anymore. There is no broken ribs, which is good, but some of them are badly bruised. I can give him some medicine to ease the fever, but the rest is up to him.” The doctor said and took a small brown bottle and a small measuring cup from his back. He measured the medicine and mixed it with some water before lifting the sick man carefully up and made him drink it, slowly so he didn’t chough it up. Some of it trickled down from the corner of his mouth but most of it made it down and Dr. McCoy lowered the man back to the bed.

“Now we just put a wet cloth on his forehead to keep the fewer down and hope for the best. He seems to have good physical fitness, so I believe that he will get better as long as he can rest.” The young man said and smiled to Charles, who let his shoulders slump. Now only thing he could do was wait.

 

They found a cloth and a bowl for the water soon and after that the doctor asked for Charles to sit down on the chair so he could take a look at him. Besides some small bruises and wounds he truly was fine.

“So, what exactly happened?” McCoy asked as he cleaned one small wound on his arm.

“You don’t want to know.” Charles said and the other man gave him a curious look. “I mean it. It’s better if you don’t know.” He wasn’t that wary of the doctor anymore, he had helped Erik after all, but he still thought that it was better to not tell anything. For all of them. McCoy nodded.

“If you say so.” The telepath couldn’t help but hear thoughts that crossed the young doctor’s mind. _Maybe they are agents of the government on a secret mission._ The thought made Charles smile slightly, it felt good to be able to still smile even if the worry still smoldered inside him.

 

The smile faded when a headache, which had been building up since their arrival, decided to flare up. Charles hissed through his teeth and screwed his eyes shut.

“What is it?” The doctor’s alert voice asked, but Charles waved his hand.

“Nothing. Just an headache.” He tried to ease the pain by rubbing his temples, but didn’t do much.

“That might be bad. Have you hit your head recently? Do you feel nausea or dizziness?” The doctor stopped cleaning the wound and soon Charles felt two hands on his head, searching for bumps or other signs of some kind of a head injury.

“No, this happens to me every now and then. There’s no reason to worry.” Charles tried to smile to the doctor, but it was a weak try. Through his squinted eyes he could see the other man’s dubious look.

“Are you absolutely sure?” He asked and Charles nodded, the movement making the pain flare again and he had to grit his teeth so he didn’t moan. The doctor let out a tired sigh, but let it go. Well, almost.

“Okay, but I leave some medicine for you if it gets worse.” This time Charles didn’t even nod, but hummed in acknowledgement. He wouldn’t drink it anyway, his childhood had made him wary of cures that were supposed to help his head or mind.

 

 

He didn’t know how much time passed or how long he sat there holding his head but when Logan’s gruff voice made him open his eyes, Dr. McCoy had already left.

“You should rest.” The man said, smoking a cigar. “You can take the room next to thi-“

“I stay here.” Charles said firmly. No way in hell he would leave Erik’s side now. Logan just arched an eyebrow.

“I’m not carrying a second bed here.”

“You don’t need to, I just rest here.” Charles said and tried to move into more comfortable position, regretting it immediately as the pain in his head increased. He cursed and decided to stay still for now.

“Do what you want, but don’t blame me when you are too stiff to move tomorrow.” Logan said, rolling his eyes and turned to leave the room. “I took care of your horses so don’t worry about them. And you have to pay me for this room when you decide to leave.”

“Fuck off.” Charles grunted and heard the older man laugh before he closed the door behind him.

 

It took some time, but slowly Charles made his way closer to the bed, dragging the chair with him and rested his head on Erik’s stomach. The sleep took over his body as he felt Erik’s chest rise and fall with his steady breathing.

 

…

 

Erik didn’t want to wake up. Everything hurt, he felt stuffy and physically drained and he just wanted to stay asleep. But his survival instincts forced him to stay awake and try to take in his surroundings. He was lying on something soft, a bed possibly. He could hear muffled sounds of everyday life in streets, somewhere a blacksmith was forging and the sound of metal was soothing him. He wanted to use his powers to feel all the metal he could, but even thinking about it made him even more tired. Instead he tried to open his eyes. When he finally was able to actually keep them open he found himself staring at a wooden roof. The room was dim, the curtains blocking some of the daylight, but not all of it.

 

It didn’t take long when his eyes focused at a sleeping form whose head was resting on his own lap. Erik recognized the brunet man immediately and even when his body protested, he brought his right hand to pet Charles’ dirty hair. The touch made Erik feel relieved, Charles was really there. Charles was safe. He looked too pale and he had black circles under his eyes, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Wait, why would he be hurt? What had happened?

 “Erik?” A soft voice brought Erik back to the moment and he saw how Charles blinked his eyes open, blue eyes focusing at him.

“Charles.” His voice was hoarse and he coughed, trying to get it under control. “Where are we?”

“At The Wolverine. How’re you feeling?” The telepath asked, sounding weary and looking worried.

“Tired, the left side of my upper body hurts and I feel sore everywhere else. So I’m just fine.” Erik gave Charles a small smile that the younger man returned slowly. “And you?”

“Head.” Charles said blandly and Erik understood what he meant. Using powers too much made him get intense headaches, while Erik himself got physically tired, just like now…

 

Wait a second, Erik frowned.  Why had they used their powers like that?

“What happened?” He asked and saw something like fear in Charles’ eyes.

“You don’t remember anything?” He asked slowly, tense somehow. It made Erik feel troubled.

“I remember you patching my shoulder up. After that, everything is a big mess.” He said and Charles looked away, biting his lip. “Charles, what is it?” He demanded, worry feeding his frustration. The telepath closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, bracing himself.

“It’s a long story.” He said, opening his eyes and meeting Erik’s gaze. The older man recognized the silent plea, asking for not to do this now, but Erik needed to know.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He said and with a sigh, Charles started to talk.

 

Despite feeling tired, he forced himself to stay awake the whole time. Charles spoke slowly and as the story went on, Erik remembered glimpses from here and there. Shaw and the red demon, their ultimatum, the pain. After that, everything was hazy, only voices, like talking and Charles screaming, and more pain when he used his powers to bring down the cabin. Such a shame, he had really liked that cabin. They had built it together, it had been their home over three years. It was clear that they couldn’t go back to live there, even if they build a new cabin. Shaw new that place, it wouldn’t be safe anymore.

 

A silence fell as Charles ended his story, telling how this Dr. McCoy had helped them. Erik found himself lost in thought, it was all so surreal. They had traveled a lot over the years and Logan was the only one they had met that also had powers, but now there had been four other gifted and they had almost been killed by them. It seemed that they weren’t as rare as they had thought. Erik didn’t know what to make of it. He ran his finger through the smaller man’s hair. This wasn’t time to think about it.

“Charles,” He said and he telepath hummed. “Come here?” He asked, nodding towards his right side when Charles opened his eyes. The younger man gave him a weak smile.

“I’m not sure if I can move. And even if I could, this bed is too narrow, you are still hurt.”

“My right side is just sore, and you don’t take that much space anyway.” Erik said and when the telepath didn’t seem convinced he continued. “It won’t do any good for you to sleep like that.” Erik tried to reason and with a little hesitation Charles nodded just slightly and took a deep breath.

 

It was difficult and took some time, Erik had to grit his teeth so he didn’t groan when Charles climbed over him, but in the end Charles was finally laying on the bed between the wall and Erik. The taller man slipped his good arm around the telepath, pulling him as close as possible, feeling much calmer. It was strange not to be able to feel him in his head at all. Charles kept his eyes tightly shut, clearly in pain. Erik had seen this before, well, usually not this bad, but knew what usually helped the smaller man to ease the pain in his head.

“You can use my mind, Charles.” He suggested. Focusing on one mind, preferably on calm and familiar one, helped to block other minds, which helped the pain go away.

“I don’t think that I should.” Charles said with quiet voice and Erik frowned.

“Why? I can see that you are in pain.” Erik argued and truth to be told, he missed the warm feeling of the younger man in his mind.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

The answer was just a whisper and took Erik by surprise. Hurt him?

“How?” Erik asked. “How would you possibly hurt me?” Charles let out a small sigh and opened his eyes, but didn’t look at Erik.

“When I used my powers against Shaw and Ms. Frost I felt stronger than ever. But I couldn’t control it all and you got hurt too. You might have lost your memory because of me! I don’t want that to happen again.” His voice sounded unsure and for a moment Erik saw a nine years old boy there, hurt and scared of his own powers. He hated it.

“My memory loss is more likely the fever’s fault. And I know that you won’t hurt me.” Erik kept his voice calm, but firm. These were not words meant only to comfort, he actually meant them.

“How can you be so sure?” Charles asked, frowning.

“Because I trust you.” Erik said and Charles turned to look at him. “I know how good you are with your powers. And… I have been in the same situation before. We both have.”  The younger man had puzzled look on his face, so Erik kept speaking.

“It was our first job, when that one guy caught you off guard. When I saw you go limp I lost it. I didn’t think, I felt my powers get stronger with my anger and just acted. And we have noticed that our powers tend to get harder to control if we feel scared or angry. It happened more often when we were younger. You remember that, right?” Erik asked and Charles nodded after little pause. On the back of his mind, he could feel Charles’ wavering presence. He focused on it and pulled him deeper inside his mind, showing that it was alright. Beside him, he could feel Charles’ body relax and how he gently stroked his collarbone with his thumb.

“Maybe there is a middle ground somewhere. Between anger and calm.” The telepath said, closing his eyes and Erik hummed, following the example.

 

For a moment, they just stayed like that, seeking comfort from physical and mental connection. Erik felt himself lingering somewhere between sleep and waking when Charles spoke again.

“So what are we going to do now?”  His voice was soft and it sounded like he too was almost asleep.

“We must move at least. Our cabin is not habitable anymore.” Erik said and Charles giggled.

“That’s true. And… Maybe we could then take that break?” The telepath suggested and Erik felt himself smile.

“Yeah, that sounds perfect.” He said and felt Charles nuzzling carefully closer. There were many things to talk about and things that needed planning, but right now, they needed their rest. They deserved it.

 

…

 

“What do you mean ‘you can’t fix it’?” Shaw shouted at Frost, who now was in her diamond form, just in case. She didn’t want to take the chance with the man’s temper. Azazel and Janos apparently had same thoughts as they both had left the room the moment they could.

“I mean just that. The damage the telepath did is too extensive for me to heal. I’m not even sure if he would be able to fix this. You are lucky that you’re still alive.” She kept her tone professional, not wanting to irritate the man more. Shaw growled, and swiped his hair up from his face before he looked at his hands that were trembling uncontrollably since he had woken up.

“He will pay for this.” Shaw swore, voice so cold it made Frost take a step back. “That worthless rat will suffer for this. And so will his metal manipulative friend. I will kill them both, but only after they’re begging for it!”  

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading, I hope that you liked it ^-^  
> I left the ending open, but right now, I don’t know when I’m going to continue this. I have only one idea in my head and I’m not sure if I will ever be comfortable enough with my writing skills to actually write it. (Because right now, it is mostly pwp… ‘Hides behind her computer in shame’)  
> So my plot bunny is lazy, but if you have some ideas or suggestions, please share them in comments. I might not be able to fulfill all of them (or any of them, I don’t know yet), but they could give me some inspiration. Of course I would do my best to fulfill them. What would you like to read about these boys in this AU?


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